tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61785635836936183502024-03-12T22:39:57.244-07:00SV Estrellita 5.10b - More fun. Less suck.Cruising the South Pacific since 2010.Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.comBlogger985125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-10629726080413380232017-06-06T02:00:00.000-07:002017-06-06T02:00:22.844-07:00A Tour of SV Estrellita 5.10b<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qE944ZN20Du1rY1js4ZmfyTEGZ1_DjfJtI0AXAU4NSl-JLNSD8YghgkpSnkaORbHup6FiSYZQzdcmkF7cq4wsJCVAVYKgrR7goftpvTyGAfFoatATznahZP2O7nEdkAbv-OPa48-4t4/s1600/pretorien+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="360" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qE944ZN20Du1rY1js4ZmfyTEGZ1_DjfJtI0AXAU4NSl-JLNSD8YghgkpSnkaORbHup6FiSYZQzdcmkF7cq4wsJCVAVYKgrR7goftpvTyGAfFoatATznahZP2O7nEdkAbv-OPa48-4t4/s200/pretorien+%25283%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Below is a video tour of a SV Estrellita 5.10b - a 1983 Wauquiez Pretorien.<br />
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The entire time we owned this boat I intended to do a video tour. On the day before I flew away from the boat (February 2016), leaving her for sale in Australia, I remembered to take a bunch of video to put together later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YBjdzD8Az2Uz7ZBufzlhTeRBIK_iefdNFQ5yWtrIxiA4AJQVjpgh55FppHaX2NUI5fEFji6DlWABO_jpRQdIDuSC52oA1R7s0_XZk5DOQ8DAwQ_b9AwoanrYXoxWjR-p_PY_ih57Tog/s1600/pretorien2+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="400" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YBjdzD8Az2Uz7ZBufzlhTeRBIK_iefdNFQ5yWtrIxiA4AJQVjpgh55FppHaX2NUI5fEFji6DlWABO_jpRQdIDuSC52oA1R7s0_XZk5DOQ8DAwQ_b9AwoanrYXoxWjR-p_PY_ih57Tog/s200/pretorien2+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a>Fast forward 1 year and 4 months later - this week I found that footage while backing up some photos, put it together and narrated it. <br />
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The video is a brief overview. Feel free to ask any questions about the boat or gear in the comments below. I also found video from our last passage (New Cal to Australia) which I will process eventually as well. For the rest of our videos, see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SVEstrellita510b/" target="_blank">our YouTube channel</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MD8XHWvYtwM" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-11929434278827019922017-04-03T02:00:00.000-07:002017-06-02T11:37:58.712-07:00Snapshot: One Year on Land<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9Yr1xpRbMXopwHXsaxHPb2M3fcVlRCkn4JytXlfhEUmoAMPCunBFxVlVivn1DQppHY3y50FMkPRkrRdeKwuXy_ZRSBu3-fdYGIHHqPYkLvCb3Tvws9NhTvXPmj7tgae7HNTLtJNpeWE/s1600/GOPR6397+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9Yr1xpRbMXopwHXsaxHPb2M3fcVlRCkn4JytXlfhEUmoAMPCunBFxVlVivn1DQppHY3y50FMkPRkrRdeKwuXy_ZRSBu3-fdYGIHHqPYkLvCb3Tvws9NhTvXPmj7tgae7HNTLtJNpeWE/s640/GOPR6397+%25282%2529.JPG" title="In Vava'u Tonga" width="640" /></a></div>
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We answered the following questions after <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2010/08/10-question-snapshot-at-2-months-in.html">two months of cruising</a>, <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/06/snapshot-at-12-months.html">one year of cruising</a>, and <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2013/08/snapshot-3-years-of-cruising.html">three years of cruising</a>. Often our answers changed, sometimes they stayed the same.<br />
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Now, we answer the same questions after one year on land.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8T0wDLyy7YA8EXnLZ-OXREZAMnPBg8g713zXOGegOEp5RfJTF63PHNPUiGu4pscnMP_tUv7lWJrC_hshIwtwXAqDM_2n8IvMhQprclti9aIbT_1cudg48Ne9Vsi3ZHcxolcy64yGzQ4/s1600/IMG_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8T0wDLyy7YA8EXnLZ-OXREZAMnPBg8g713zXOGegOEp5RfJTF63PHNPUiGu4pscnMP_tUv7lWJrC_hshIwtwXAqDM_2n8IvMhQprclti9aIbT_1cudg48Ne9Vsi3ZHcxolcy64yGzQ4/s400/IMG_0071.JPG" title="Mangareva, Gambiers, FrenchPolynesia" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>What did you love about cruising? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>Carol</i>: Many things. First of all feeling like I was on a real adventure. Doing something that just a handful of people have the courage to do. Discovering the planet. Away from the tourist traps. Being able to share everything with Livia. Experiencing the unexpected - spending a few months in a house in <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.ca/2013/03/sunset-in-tahiti.html">Tahiti </a>was a surprise. Obviously, we met some great, genuine people.<br />
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<i>Livia</i>: I've said this before but I felt like my everyday life was embedded in nature. Almost every day I was outside for large sections of the day, I admired the beauty of my natural surroundings, I soaked up the vibe of the non-human world. I miss that in my current life. You don't have to cruise to have this, as many people living in gorgeous natural surroundings can attest, but I don't experience that daily soaking up of the natural vibe right now.<br />
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<b>What did you dislike about cruising? </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg_ZD57oMe1G3_jjDxkJkKUnm4n-qyonmDbRfJymJJhhYzUTkk6VHKY420IlwYqscSEMLGmwlRzfoS7yWwxGUbo53keX25ghWBRCCEO4jJ1snvwfrvpSOpZKy4lDdMb9wjJBpn_hJ1oU/s1600/GOPR2443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg_ZD57oMe1G3_jjDxkJkKUnm4n-qyonmDbRfJymJJhhYzUTkk6VHKY420IlwYqscSEMLGmwlRzfoS7yWwxGUbo53keX25ghWBRCCEO4jJ1snvwfrvpSOpZKy4lDdMb9wjJBpn_hJ1oU/s400/GOPR2443.JPG" title="Penryhn Cook Islands" width="400" /></a><i>Livia</i>: Almost everything I dislike about cruising is a result of how we chose to cruise and so these are the downsides to the upsides we actively sought out. We wanted to be remote which meant we spent a lot of time doing without (this was easy) but our non-remote time was a mad rush to get everything bought and fixed before we went remote again. This was exhausting because we were usually very active when we were remote and then very busy when we were non-remote and over the years this began to feel exhausting and relentless. And yet, we could have chosen at any point to spend more time in those population centers and thus had less stress on that front but I would choose the same again.<br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Sharing anchorages with the charter fleet, the big rallies, and cruise ships. I felt it was ruining the vibe, the place, because the kind of people those things attract. With that said, obviously we met some awesome people in those groups too, and bad single cruisers, but in the big picture. I disliked being on guard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - it can wear you down and it was a relief to let go of that.<br />
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<b>What do you worry about? </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_88lR2I7tsNjizpSimI_uhLALC4i-fZq5sB8eRVjknGWrhekDME8t7tb6qf79T0lZ9Iz9Vyq-nrzPhPfcoujuhzWKYEXnPV0H5_fP6cosjRv_1xia1-2N5R0QhK_MVTP48kZWZs4be_A/s1600/17264133_10154981775741772_7430657929773040105_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_88lR2I7tsNjizpSimI_uhLALC4i-fZq5sB8eRVjknGWrhekDME8t7tb6qf79T0lZ9Iz9Vyq-nrzPhPfcoujuhzWKYEXnPV0H5_fP6cosjRv_1xia1-2N5R0QhK_MVTP48kZWZs4be_A/s400/17264133_10154981775741772_7430657929773040105_n.jpg" title="Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, USA" width="300" /></a></div>
<i>Livia</i>: When I think about being on land, I worry about not getting back out vagabonding again. When I think about cruising again, I worry about the commitment of owning a boat and what other travel opportunities I will miss out on. When I think about vagabonding by land later, it seems inconceivable to me that I wouldn't go back out cruising. Basically, I am a (high class, first world problem) worrier who has FOMS (Fear Of Missing Out Syndrome).<br />
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<i>Carol</i>: My fear right now is to start again too late and to have the wrong expectations either because I forgot the bad about last time or because the world is changing and it will be different.<br />
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<b>What (if anything) do you wish someone had told you before you started cruising? </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: It's the opposite. It's more what I wish they didn't tell me - what they said at boat shows when they were trying to sell me something and they were totally wrong. I wish I had met some of the people we met out cruising - but that we met them before we went cruising - to have a more open mind about cruising. With that said, it was a good thing I had a great wife that kept my mind open and didn't follow the crowd.<br />
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<i>Livia</i>: Cruising is whatever you want it to be and anyone who starts talking about "real cruisers" is automatically suspect to me. Usually those kind of people will define real cruisers in seemingly opposite ways (e.g., they cross oceans and see lots of countries but they spend a long time in one place and deeply experience the culture). Cruising isn't an attitude either. Avoid defining it, experience it, make it yours, do it your way, and respect that same variety in others. The fact that we all do it differently is part of the joy for me and I wish we would allow for as many differences between cruisers as we allow for differences in the cultures we visit.<br />
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<b>What are you looking forward to? </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Looking forward to getting back to more control over our time. We're doing a lot of fun stuff now but it will be nice to when we get back to a place where we don't have to answer to anyone else except Mother Nature, ourselves and the rules of the country we are in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPNkSI6Nb866I0Gtyu-2C7yyJReG4dfEEEVabrMYqwUaGSg2mP6QyHSvxMeJ5m3SoWSWO9IhIvk3baxadbrBCQaoWp8bFSY1FSShHN_yvupvp-x67tr03tMHq8nmkRMHpcKtj6HXBlMs/s1600/16939322_10154943494161772_8278428608692001403_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPNkSI6Nb866I0Gtyu-2C7yyJReG4dfEEEVabrMYqwUaGSg2mP6QyHSvxMeJ5m3SoWSWO9IhIvk3baxadbrBCQaoWp8bFSY1FSShHN_yvupvp-x67tr03tMHq8nmkRMHpcKtj6HXBlMs/s400/16939322_10154943494161772_8278428608692001403_n.jpg" title="Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, USA" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Livia</i>: We just spent several weeks climbing outside of Las Vegas in a beautiful area called Red Rock Canyon. It was gorgeous and we met up with some friends there. I'm looking forward to going back in a few weeks.<br />
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<b>Favorite place recently was </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas. Because of the type of climbing we were doing it felt like and adventure and I felt back in control of our day. We did what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it.<br />
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<i>Livia</i>: Terrebonne, Oregon. Love the vibe there, met some great people, hung out with some old friends, and the climbing at Smith Rock State Park was very fun.<br />
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<b>Least favorite place recently was </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Nowhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68PGDPDnJvVfLUmAhUt7W4zuHygwr0mXxM5HsegZ-gcDlx5yRDOhQGIFV_XJpjfv3SwTVY8FfnLkgNjE3VEENcMC4u2e6bgNEMw7Tkdm25A2Rr2gGklURgwv0jMr99u4H2GeT1JREtao/s1600/GOPR2868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68PGDPDnJvVfLUmAhUt7W4zuHygwr0mXxM5HsegZ-gcDlx5yRDOhQGIFV_XJpjfv3SwTVY8FfnLkgNjE3VEENcMC4u2e6bgNEMw7Tkdm25A2Rr2gGklURgwv0jMr99u4H2GeT1JREtao/s400/GOPR2868.JPG" title="Colosseum, Rome, Italy" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Livia</i>: Weirdly enough Italy. We met up with good friends there and thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and the rock climbing we did together, but the trash, the dirt, the aggression, the drugs...not a favorite place.<br />
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<b>A lesson learned is that...</b><br />
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<i>Livia</i>: The <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.ca/2016/10/on-island-time-in-prairies.html">mentality</a> I adopted when cruising has transferred fairly easily to my life on land. I notice the beauty in my environment more no matter where I am, I pay more attention to people and make more eye contact, I take my time, I explore, I avoid trying to change others and to appreciate the differences, and even though I was more of an "activities" than a "things" person before I left, I am even more so now.<br />
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<i>Carol</i>: To not let the fear of the future stop you from doing what you love. That it is good to have goals - obtainable, achievable goals.<br />
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<b>Best gear award goes to... </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Our Toyota RAV4 V6. Also, <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.ca/2014/02/electronic-charting-on-estrellita-sas.html">SAS Planet</a> - it was a game changer for people who like to scope out new spots and kite spots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8kBQLgO4o7OhsNoh9IiWxAYq188kO99dqp7lEv3qaEoGIrC04X3ofRzE9yXIp1n-Bc8S-pPtFuIOTEI94c4vSXcY0lrbYPH7unzg2RjMqsn4VbCctEmaAeIjjVhkUO-UlxFVaNmIj6Q/s1600/GOPR6408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8kBQLgO4o7OhsNoh9IiWxAYq188kO99dqp7lEv3qaEoGIrC04X3ofRzE9yXIp1n-Bc8S-pPtFuIOTEI94c4vSXcY0lrbYPH7unzg2RjMqsn4VbCctEmaAeIjjVhkUO-UlxFVaNmIj6Q/s400/GOPR6408.JPG" title="Vava'u, Tonga" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Livia</i>: I am going to answer these gear questions related to the boat although I'm tempted to say "the dishwasher" from our current home. The best gear that we had while cruising was <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.ca/2013/10/the-luxury-of-35-feet.html">our boat</a>. We chose a sturdy boat that sailed well and we chose a boat we could easily afford and which left a lot of money in our kitty for upgrades and customization. All of those things decreased the stress and suck factor and increased the fun factor.<br />
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<b>Worst gear award goes to... </b><br />
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<i>Livia</i>: Honestly, the worst gear toward the end was also the boat. She was the perfect boat for us when we set out but 5.5 years later we felt cramped living in her, cramped entertaining in her, and as we became better sailors we felt we could safely handle a little less sturdy boat for a little more performance.<br />
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<i>Carol</i>: Having a manual windlass for people like us who explore a lot, going to nook and cranny anchorages where we had to drop multiple times to be set in the perfect spot, or when we wanted to move for a short time, became a nuisance.<br />
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<b>What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you didn't find to be true? </b><br />
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<i>Carol</i>: What gear you need because in reality it all depends on you, your boat, your activities, your comfort level, and where you go.<br />
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<i>Livia</i>: I often read that the transition back to land was traumatic for people and for me personally, it wasn't. Cruising has its own schedule demands, its own work demands, its own social/community joys and dramas and I find being back on land to be different but with the same issues. I found selling the boat traumatic, but <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.ca/2016/09/why-we-stopped-cruising.html">not ending the cruise</a>. I was excited to do something new again. I also heard a lot about how cruising gets you into great shape and while that might be true for someone living a more sedentary life on land who suddenly is cruising and active, for me who had been very physically active on land, I found it tougher to stay in shape while cruising.<br />
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<b>What is something that you read or heard about cruising, that you found particularly accurate? </b><br />
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<i>Livia</i>: People were always saying "Go, you'll never regret it". I'm sure some people do regret it, I'm sure some people probably shouldn't go, and I haven't asked everyone I know. Still, I feel like the overwhelming majority of people I have become friends with who have gone cruising - even the friends who didn't particularly like it all of the time, who stopped earlier than they expected, who came back to land broke - don't regret having gone and cherish memories from their time out.<br />
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<i>Carol</i>: You can go with any kind of sound boat and you don't have to wait to have the perfect boat. Any boat you go with will cause some limitations.<br />
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<b>What question do you wish I would have asked you besides the ones I've asked you and how would you answer it? </b><br />
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<u>Please ask us a question in the comments of our blog. I promise to respond.</u></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-65361760767810725622017-03-15T15:42:00.003-07:002017-03-15T15:54:55.797-07:00The IWAC Revival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As recently published on the <a href="http://interviewwithacruiser.blogspot.ca/">Interview With A Cruiser</a> site:<br />
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After a five year hiatus, the Interview With A Cruiser Project is coming out of intermission.<br />
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I am toying with different formats, mulling over the question bank,
reaching out to my contacts, and thinking through the project from top
to bottom.<br />
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Here is your chance for <b>input </b>before the project gets up and rolling again!<br />
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<i>What did you enjoy about the project? What did you find lacking? Did
anything annoy or frustrate you? If you could run the project, what
would you do differently? What subjects fascinated you? Which subjects
weren't covered enough?</i><br />
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<b>Comment </b>here, on the <a href="http://interviewwithacruiser.blogspot.ca/2017/03/the-iwac-revival.html">IWAC post</a>, or on the same topic on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Interview-With-A-Cruiser-Project-136123163090608">the IWAC Facebook page</a>.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-33550032481939667712017-01-30T08:53:00.002-08:002017-01-30T09:04:29.947-08:00Pilot Whale Stranding in New Zealand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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//This post refers to events from February 2015 when we were land traveling in New Zealand, having left SV Estrellita in a keel pit in Fiji. I had originally written this for a non-blogging purpose, never did anything with it, and so am posting it here.//<br />
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More than 150 pilot whales were stranded on the beach and the call was going out for volunteers. Like many cruisers, we were using the South Pacific cyclone season as a chance to tramp and car camp around New Zealand. While the pilot whales were struggling on the hard, we were snug in our sleeping bags at a hippy rock climbers campground at the North end of the South Island of New Zealand, about 45 minutes away.<br />
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After an unusually noisy early morning in camp, we unzipped our tent to find the climbers campground was deserted -- an incredibly rare event at that hour. After asking around we found out about the stranding which had occurred the previous evening. When we arrived at the beach, we were happy to see a large crowd of volunteers.<br />
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Believing that there was no need for additional help, we went to the beach just to observe. Several tide cycles after the stranding, there were still about 60 whales on the beach and quite a few were already dead. A baby whale and its mother were still alive. The mother was struggling under her own beached weight while the baby was splashing in a trench dug around its body.<br />
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We came upon a team of people caring for a whale they had named Emily. The volunteers were cold, wet, exhausted and in need of relief. They gave us instructions on how to care for Emily and we spent the next several hours carrying buckets of cold water to cool her overheated core, keeping her upright on her belly to avoid crushing her pectoral fins, and talking to her to calm her breathing and to keep her from panicking.<br />
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Emily was severely blistered from the sun. She kept her eyes tightly shut against the drying air and blew fiercely in intervals out of her blowhole. One of her pectoral fins had lost a deep slice of skin from her struggles before she was rolled onto her stomach by volunteers. She had been draped in an old white sheet to protect her skin from further sun damage and to hold the cooling water against her.<br />
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I will never forget my turn at her head, crouched down in the wet sand at her side near her eye, talking soothingly to her. She had rolled slightly and we were trying to right her. We had sandbags to keep her propped up and in good position for the upcoming high tide but sometimes the sand would give, or she would struggle and start sliding to one side. While we were righting her, trying our best to avoid her badly blistered skin, her breathing had become more jerky, with the breaths coming closer and closer together. You could feel her pain and fear. As I began talking soothingly to her, she gradually slowed her breathing and began taking full, even breaths. I had calmed her and that realization connected me to her in a way that I will remember forever.<br />
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As the tide approached, surging in quickly on the long flat beach, the volunteers without wetsuits scurried back across the muddy tidal flats to higher ground. At this point, the difficult task of keeping the whales calm and in place until they had enough water to swim safely began. The Department of Conservation used special floats to first bring out a whale that they believed was a pod leader in hopes that the lead pilot whale swimming offshore would encourage the others.<br />
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New Zealand's Golden Bay has a long history of whale beachings. Although scientists are still uncertain as to the exact cause, the preferred explanation is that the long sloping beach combined with a large tidal range confuses the echolocation of the whales who cannot get a solid radar return on the low angle slope. The pilot whales come in, the ebbing tide rushes out and they become stranded. With up to 8 kilometers of tidal flats at Farewell Spit, even if stranded whales refloat on the next high tide, the long shallow beach causes the whales to have difficulty finding their way to deeper water and they often find themselves stranded again.<br />
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At sunset, when all of the surviving whales were floating just off the sand, the wetsuit volunteers grasped each others' cold, salty hands and formed a human chain to direct the whales away from the shallows and into deeper water.<br />
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Emily swam away. The Department of Conservation experts assured us that whales can recover from such grievous injuries to their skin. I hope so. The next time we are on passage in the South Pacific, sailing between island nations, and we are surrounded by pilot whales, as has occurred several times in the past, I am going to toast Emily and hope she and the rest of her pod always stay in deep water.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-6682488729877463482016-10-20T15:26:00.001-07:002016-10-20T15:26:46.864-07:00On Island Time in the Prairies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back in Fiji</td></tr>
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Island time is a concept that most of us are familiar with. It is a weird concept because it links a bunch of very different people, living in very different cultures, to a single vibe. On the other hand, most people that have traveled in the tropics would agree that there is something real to it.<br />
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I haven't spent enough time in enough countries to hazard a theory as to the origins and probably most explanations are nothing more than guesses.<br />
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Still, island time has seeped into me, deep into my core, and changed me in a way that became starkly apparent as I re-entered North American culture. I've thought a lot about this and tried to get to the heart of my change. I believe it is this.<br />
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<u>I no longer worship efficiency.</u><br />
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In North American culture, it is an article of faith that busy people are important, that managing your life to pack more things in is desirable, and that idle time is wasted time - or at least only to be allowed occasionally, in a scheduled manner, as an indulgence.<br />
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We are so strident in our belief that being efficient and busy is the ultimate life goal, that we get angry at anyone who makes us less efficient, who causes us to waste precious minutes. These slow people are disrespecting our schedule, disrespecting the busy lives we lead, by failing to properly adhere to rules of maximum efficiency. They are too slow, in the wrong lane, asking the clerk a question - all signs that they are not among the efficiency faithful. How dare they?!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJjP-U4-oclO_VGYnmYfP8MpjH0XYmSOuEd7wl8efEbH4Ba2jYUg1MnP8l-FLoe8g2UHhqF_fiihUL5PEHgnS6p19Cfb0Q-WIO8pLWxXmox0zbcKl1sFVzUUO84oAfkKH7WuSfvUvZO0/s1600/IMG_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJjP-U4-oclO_VGYnmYfP8MpjH0XYmSOuEd7wl8efEbH4Ba2jYUg1MnP8l-FLoe8g2UHhqF_fiihUL5PEHgnS6p19Cfb0Q-WIO8pLWxXmox0zbcKl1sFVzUUO84oAfkKH7WuSfvUvZO0/s320/IMG_0512.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Now, step back and imagine a culture that values quality over quantity, a culture that does not worship efficiency, but rather richness of experience.<br />
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Rather than the slow person being in the busy person's way, this culture sees the busy person as being incredibly rude for trying to force their rush onto other people, as being flawed for trying to do so many things at the same time that they feel they must sacrifice the quality of their interactions and their experience. These busy people don't say hello when they walk into a store, get upset when things don't appear instantly - all signs that they don't understand how life should be lived. How dare they?!<br />
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That is the head space I am now inhabiting. I refuse to value someone else's packed life* more than my purposefully unpacked life. I'm not trying to slow them down, or get in their way, because I'm not a jerk, but I'm not going to jump/hurry/apologize to accommodate their rush either. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEjK8gFFqwdTE4WDn9r6no1h_B37sdP98eIn-vYJ1fTQlUNyXiJXd5p66g-k8bCvIe_XRuJZyfDTIkLfCcOzIAOHnYJYBCmoLgGT3E_ccqk7Th5gU1n3NaFHUgN9Z1UiyjZKSmIJOKng/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEjK8gFFqwdTE4WDn9r6no1h_B37sdP98eIn-vYJ1fTQlUNyXiJXd5p66g-k8bCvIe_XRuJZyfDTIkLfCcOzIAOHnYJYBCmoLgGT3E_ccqk7Th5gU1n3NaFHUgN9Z1UiyjZKSmIJOKng/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a>I force myself not to get mad when other people try to rush me. It's a cultural difference and my internal culture has changed. I even feel a bit bad for incredibly busy people which I know is a bit judge-y - particularly because I know that I am still rushed by island standards even if I am slow by N American. I try instead to be amused by the lack of eye contact, the lack of presence caused by screen obsession, the people who walk underneath the happy clouds without noticing them.<br />
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Efficiency is overrated for this hedonist.<br />
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*For most people I know, the packed life is chosen, but of course if it is truly forced on someone like a single Mom with a couple of jobs or whatever, then just like the islanders I have met when I was in trouble, I will go out of my way to help.<br />
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Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-1748850328026569092016-09-28T13:04:00.001-07:002016-09-29T11:59:12.456-07:00Why We Stopped Cruising<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c5LYj0Jd9ZQBLguYNVxAoYs4Bg3J0H0oIjHhu36d_LQInPvBoQrGY9TCYX9x7tK5ePv4MxiYUtlAzDLUMstE3WQIcDAW7ylanWuPqSswVfPzFUbpIMHa86MNaqo-fJoUCm5HbaF774U/s1600/P1070853+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c5LYj0Jd9ZQBLguYNVxAoYs4Bg3J0H0oIjHhu36d_LQInPvBoQrGY9TCYX9x7tK5ePv4MxiYUtlAzDLUMstE3WQIcDAW7ylanWuPqSswVfPzFUbpIMHa86MNaqo-fJoUCm5HbaF774U/s640/P1070853+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because we were done :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58vWZZ6XjNBYFto7bAqPwnaIsIi8oRAlGN1X2xik_M4wzCCO3IgnZzpbkCl6DcpeukxLTEkLzVNhJdfmMqMfFDR832g1-OBAlbgcPKFyfwdTUdJAfml8lNYV0y7cmohoDjN_dt1-Xn2o/s1600/P1080255+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58vWZZ6XjNBYFto7bAqPwnaIsIi8oRAlGN1X2xik_M4wzCCO3IgnZzpbkCl6DcpeukxLTEkLzVNhJdfmMqMfFDR832g1-OBAlbgcPKFyfwdTUdJAfml8lNYV0y7cmohoDjN_dt1-Xn2o/s200/P1080255+%25282%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a>While we were leaving French Polynesia we realized that we had about the same amount of fun left in our cruise as we did money in our bank account. In about 3 or 4 years, depending on how many things went wrong, we would need to head back to land to replenish both our fun factor and our savings. We also knew that our various qualifications in our previous careers were evaporating and so it was a good time to think about returning to work for that reason as well.<br />
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At that point we decided we would start keeping our eyes open for work that was both fun AND lucrative. We also decided that if nothing had come up within two years we would start looking for work that was fun OR lucrative and in about four years we would start applying to be greeters at Walmart!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDppxQNgtuFvlvjNh1bFTsQwAzBAFuC3sWrb7RTEJmNw2aBnMqx-FpQWUEeqB948-Nrtk2oy5AYOjV912zP7cCykdcf4Mf2GIEzqPgCdGyCz8wa7q0pArzh3SPi6PK7NlRI9cHIjMrg/s1600/P1070984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNDppxQNgtuFvlvjNh1bFTsQwAzBAFuC3sWrb7RTEJmNw2aBnMqx-FpQWUEeqB948-Nrtk2oy5AYOjV912zP7cCykdcf4Mf2GIEzqPgCdGyCz8wa7q0pArzh3SPi6PK7NlRI9cHIjMrg/s200/P1070984.JPG" width="200" /></a>Within the first year we had a number of possible opportunities that were both fun and lucrative, some of which dissolved, one of which suddenly came to fruition. Thus, it was on a high that we were able to finish our cruise - still having fun, still having money, but seeing the end of both in sight.<br />
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One of the most interesting things about finishing our cruise is the variety of responses we have had to our stop. The friends who know us the best tell us they are looking forward to seeing what we do next. Many of our cruising friends understand why because either they have finished their own cruise or are seeing their own sense of completion and ending in sight.<br />
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The weirdest part for me though are the number of people who see finishing our cruise as a failure or a tragedy of some sort. I think that there is a strange assumption that when people set out cruising, it is forever and that when the cruise invariably ends, that there has been a failure to achieve a goal. I know a few people who are trying to cruise forever. I also know people who desperately wanted to continue cruising, but have issues that cause them to stop (health, money, etc). So, I get it kind of - some cruising finishes are not what the person cruising wants, but the vast majority of cruisers I know are out "for as long as it is fun" or for a finite period of time that they have in their minds even if they don't voice it publicly. They aren't out forever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Ryan Lewandowski</td></tr>
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We set out on an open ended cruise. We were "going cruising" and we would stop when "we were done". We had no idea what we would think of cruising when we took off, or what specific number of years that cruising would continue to be fun. <br />
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Toward the end of our cruise, we were both ready for a change. We were having fun cruising, but we were ready for some other types of fun. <br />
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With our years of cruising experience, with the new knowledge of what type of cruisers we actually were (rather than the type of cruisers we guessed we would be from the dock), we were ready also to change boats. Our boat was the perfect boat for our level of experience when we departed, for our ages at the time, and for our first cruise. It is unlikely our second cruise, if we take off again, would be on the same type of boat. We've changed in many ways.<br />
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Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-81453867078230751252016-09-19T10:57:00.000-07:002016-09-19T10:57:40.789-07:00Goodbye Estrellita<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RV CLIPTAKE in Ten Sleep, Wyoming</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A summit in Smith Rock, Oregon</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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I am in a car (a car!), towing a small fiberglass trailer (a trailer?), in the open prairies of Saskatchewan (what?!), and I'm sobbing.<br />
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They say that the two happiest days in a boat owners life are when you buy your boat and when you sell it. Six months ago I left Estrellita 5.10b floating at the broker's in Australia and I knew I was saying goodbye. It was a sad moment, that I marked carefully in my mind, as I motored away from her at sunrise across a glassy calm bay in our dinghy loaded with luggage filled with all of the bits and pieces that were our possessions. Carol was already back in Canada working and I had finished my pre-sale prep and Estrellita was a gleaming beauty. I said goodbye, shed a few tears, and boarded my shuttle.<br />
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Now that the boat was selling (while we were on a climbing road trip of course), I expected to feel relief and I did. While the boat was still for sale I didn't feel like I could truly close the chapter. I had a million things I wanted to write about but felt like opening a conversation would be too painful while she was still for sale. She sold, and I felt relief that I could move on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado</td></tr>
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I didn't expect to feel such tremendous sadness. I thought I had said goodbye when I left Australia. Yet when she was actually selling I felt deep loss, a physical wrenching in my chest. I had a very real relationship with this inanimate object and that relationship was ending - we were breaking up and it tore at me even though I knew it was the right thing to do.<br />
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I also didn't expect the lightness and sudden freedom I felt. I recently read<a href="http://www.therebelheart.com/blog/2016/8/24/to-start-something-you-must-end-something-else.html#entry35759268"> a blog post</a> in which the author spoke about how the commitment of cruising closes off other options. This resonated deeply with me because as Carol and I discuss our long term future plans, when I think of cruising again, at the same time that I reimagine the delights I experienced on the water and in the islands, I fear losing the mountains again. Right now, even though we are in the prairies we are taking regular road trips in our wee trailer (RV CLIPTAKE) and my life has been full of peaks, of forests, of rock to climb. For all of the joys she gave us, boat ownership is a tremendous
responsibility, and by choosing cruising we said no to many other
ways of vagabonding and of living.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CLSj9XISDo7T1IOwJwAps4uWJ_OoKRXXL3elZSDRynBkseFTx5gvAjUyyb6cd3-l3IGCKr9lhijnckei7vHUOYnW37JfDjbsg_Fuj70JLWf2fAyhbKRyZlDRZIUI40P7KMOus4ENK8g/s1600/IMG_2476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CLSj9XISDo7T1IOwJwAps4uWJ_OoKRXXL3elZSDRynBkseFTx5gvAjUyyb6cd3-l3IGCKr9lhijnckei7vHUOYnW37JfDjbsg_Fuj70JLWf2fAyhbKRyZlDRZIUI40P7KMOus4ENK8g/s640/IMG_2476.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carol (front - left) & Livia (back - right) summiting a Flatiron in Colorado</td></tr>
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I have more odds and ends to say about finishing our cruise. I'm also going to be converting the sailing blog back into travelogue format. I'll be posting much less regularly, but our Giddyup Plan doesn't end with SV Estrellita 5.10b.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-36253589890494207252016-04-04T03:00:00.000-07:002016-04-05T06:41:18.929-07:00Video: A Taste of New Caledonia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's up! Here is the 7th video in our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">“A Taste of</a>…” cruising video series. A taste of the places that we’ve explored.<br />
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First, we posted tidbits from our time in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQWjeYyDnMg&index=2&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc"> Marquesas</a>, then the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpFpzqMHWqM&index=3&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">Societies</a>, then traveling backward in time to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBb2rmGUFks&index=1&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">British Columbia</a>, then <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1EC0efnk4Q&index=6&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">Tonga</a>, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMTOWBaZIc&index=4&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">Gambiers Islands</a>, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDZspR4H41Y&index=5&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">Tuamotus</a>, and now, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvAG_NVhw9o&index=7&list=PL47x5_YuBIdP89dSLoffR9BUy7Cby5itc">A Taste of New Caledonia</a>.<br />
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One of our favorite places.*sigh*<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CvAG_NVhw9o" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-1339937134945985062016-01-31T18:28:00.001-08:002016-09-15T13:17:53.907-07:00SV Estrellita 5.10b is SOLD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zUBHrT6EAdo/Vq7C1NIlT0I/AAAAAAAAI6Y/_kPR_G1U17c/s1600-h/P1020528-25.jpg"><img alt="P1020528 (2)" border="0" height="486" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gBjdMyAjOX4/Vq7C2FhXv0I/AAAAAAAAI6g/rwINPNh_0RE/P1020528-2_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1020528 (2)" width="646" /></a><br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xko3DYsCreg/Vq7C2wKXJaI/AAAAAAAAI6o/gvzaaynTXrs/s1600-h/wauquiez_ad-24.jpg"><img align="left" alt="wauquiez_ad (2)" border="0" height="246" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JYxVn9T29iM/Vq7C3mAdoLI/AAAAAAAAI6w/kBf9JS9Ns28/wauquiez_ad-2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="wauquiez_ad (2)" width="197" /></a>((UPDATE: Estrellita has been sold.))<br />
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The one, the only, SV Estrellita 5.10b is for sale. Details and contact information can be found <a href="http://www.dbyboatsales.com.au/wauquiez-35/">here at DBY Yachts</a>.<br />
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This is a happy time and a sad time at the same time. We are excited about our plans and the successful completion of our cruise and we are very sad to say so long to our beautiful girl. <br />
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The true hero of our voyage has always been and will always be Estrellita. <br />
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I will write more eventually about our reasons for completing our voyage, but the short version is that all is well, that we will be returning to Canada and to work, that this blog will over time reconfigure back to its namesake (The Giddyup Plan) and that our vagabonding days are on pause, not over. <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1-vFZClukPA/Vq7C4aiCdmI/AAAAAAAAI64/5D6KGDyVhfI/s1600-h/linedrawing24.jpg"><img alt="linedrawing2" border="0" height="460" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v3TKzPROGk8/Vq7C5c0zVWI/AAAAAAAAI7A/OJ1gSecWMfg/linedrawing2_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="linedrawing2" width="646" /></a></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-77217071983605964802016-01-27T02:00:00.000-08:002016-01-27T02:00:05.379-08:00Most passages are short, but most passage nights are spent on long passages<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M22dub0gBv0/VqcZnB3ulaI/AAAAAAAAI5I/bcpSQca0aCQ/s1600-h/IMG_6255%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_6255 (Copy)" border="0" height="433" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jorqe4F741I/VqcZn3hF5KI/AAAAAAAAI5Q/HCIzkyEVtto/IMG_6255%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_6255 (Copy)" width="646" /></a><br />
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In the last 5.5 years we have sailed from Victoria, up to the Haida Gwaii and then down to Mexico and over to Australia. What are our passage <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/search/label/numbers">NUMBERS</a>?<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iVcncmOOfS4/VqcZoiboIrI/AAAAAAAAI5Y/vhmaphTmeWY/s1600-h/GOPR3942%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="GOPR3942 (Copy)" border="0" height="186" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8FpdB8PFZzs/VqcZpajVnWI/AAAAAAAAI5c/XThtDrhNKNU/GOPR3942%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="GOPR3942 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>In those 5.5 years, we have spent 136 nights at sea over 45 passages. <br />
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<u>Data by passage</u>: Of the 45 passages, 22 (49%) of those passages were single overnighters between anchorages and 9 (20%) were two nights. We made 7 (16%) passages between three and five nights and 4 (9%) passages between six and nine nights. Only two passages were 10 nights long and 1 passage – Mexico to Marquesas obviously – was 26 nights.<br />
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The data show that <b>most of our passages were short one to two night hops and only 15% were passages of six or more nights</b>. But this is a bit misleading when you want to know what the average night at sea might feel like. What was the most common <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XDA9Kcjrj9U/VqcZp7SfOuI/AAAAAAAAI5o/6Em527HM5lU/s1600-h/IMG_5881%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="IMG_5881 (Copy)" border="0" height="166" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-APNcSJy23Fg/VqcZq5FUIrI/AAAAAAAAI5s/Jy0xENZZO_g/IMG_5881%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_5881 (Copy)" width="246" /></a><u>Data by night</u>: Of the 136 nights at sea, 34% of nights were spent on passages of 10 days or longer and 18% of the nights were on passages between 6 and 9 days. This means that <b>more than half of the nights we spent at sea were part of “longer” passages of 6 or more nights</b>. 23% of nights were part of 3 to 5 day passages, 16% of nights were on single overnighters and 7% of nights were on two night passages.<br />
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If I want to know what most <i>passages</i> were like, I can easily say “short”. But when I think back at <i>my nights at sea</i>, so many of my memories are from our long passages, where the night watch had become part of my daily rhythm and I was starting to enjoy that time.<br />
As an aside, twice we left on a Friday and we were *gasp* perfectly fine. We actually tried to leave on a Friday the 13th but the weather never cooperated.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C8A3hPB3tyc/VqcZrqdw5WI/AAAAAAAAI54/3dcnD6JNdZ4/s1600-h/GOPR3651%252520%2525282%252529%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="GOPR3651 (2) (Copy)" border="0" height="367" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AKOeKDIoaFg/VqcZsTAKvRI/AAAAAAAAI6A/j1bjYwNyea8/GOPR3651%252520%2525282%252529%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="GOPR3651 (2) (Copy)" width="646" /></a></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-16082326742724210342016-01-24T04:00:00.000-08:002016-01-24T04:00:01.872-08:003.5 Anchorages in Sydney Harbour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZkX9VUwRy8s/VqRzHSSBRkI/AAAAAAAAI3Q/CfjgcnTg4lU/s1600-h/sydney%252520athol%252520bay%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img alt="sydney athol bay" border="0" height="395" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fxdJS72FucY/VqRzIMSCYDI/AAAAAAAAI3Y/W_XCPUX-y-U/sydney%252520athol%252520bay_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="sydney athol bay" width="646" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6vn2q_bek0/VqRzJIkGUSI/AAAAAAAAI3g/VE7JOpJRRFo/s1600-h/P1070657%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1070657 (Copy)" border="0" height="186" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FVRXrO64JBo/VqRzJ5WsZyI/AAAAAAAAI3o/J5ZQKuQx2e4/P1070657%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070657 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>Our first anchorage and one of our favorite was Athol Bay near Taronga Zoo. It was packed, and full of party boats on Saturday night, and had the normal amount of Sydney daytime bumpy wash, but it was beautiful and full of the sounds of zoo animals at night and in the morning. On one side of the boat I had the jungle and on the other side a postcard perfect view of Sydney Bridge and the Opera House.<br />
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We anchored out at first but there was such terrible anchoring techniques in display, with people putting out 1.5:1 scope and backing up at 4 knots, that we thought we had a serious risk of having our anchor pulled up by another boater. So, the day we were planning to leave the boat all day we moved to an available mooring after breakfast. Thanks for the beers Kate!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vdmmC0ohQxo/VqRzK6PPVMI/AAAAAAAAI3w/oNFnidip-Vc/s1600-h/sydney%252520blackwattle%252520bay%25255B13%25255D.jpg"><img alt="sydney blackwattle bay" border="0" height="337" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3rLaEDZLmtg/VqRzLlh3ExI/AAAAAAAAI34/snn5484cPA4/sydney%252520blackwattle%252520bay_thumb%25255B11%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="sydney blackwattle bay" width="646" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AOCpuihzFTY/VqRzMSDPXNI/AAAAAAAAI4A/eTUIguC3Ho4/s1600-h/P1070662%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1070662 (Copy)" border="0" height="186" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5bXjruA4noI/VqRzNAq8_iI/AAAAAAAAI4E/9YC7CvCjGEA/P1070662%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070662 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>We spent our longest stretch at Blackwattle Bay, right in the heart of downtown, near the Sydney Fish Market (but not too near if you know what I mean). It was excellent. The anchorage was busy but with everyone cooperating worked out well. One local boat of dubious character drifted away in the middle of the night in a bit of stronger wind without its owner aboard and was impounded. <br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-luFd-YRyPK8/VqRzNxDT2LI/AAAAAAAAI4Q/JNaaiQtkqAY/s1600-h/P1070680%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="P1070680 (Copy)" border="0" height="186" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CHMDxZjCy0o/VqRzObbMbJI/AAAAAAAAI4U/-juGuPzahE4/P1070680%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070680 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>The Fish Market no longer has a dinghy landing as the piers have been condemned and so we used the Rowing Club and several other public jetties conveniently located on park land bordering the anchorage. A great place for a run and we took full advantage, as did a huge number of runners and dog walkers. It was easy to walk to downtown, or to take all kinds of public transit to wherever you wanted to go from there. We spent days just wandering about downtown, letting ourselves get a little lost and accidentally find new neighborhoods which is how we accidentally went to the Lord Nelson Brewery. While we were in Blackwattle we had a great seafood Christmas lunch/dinner (more on that later) and took a trip up into the Blue Mountains (more on that later).<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ufgR3ZABDDs/VqRzPDfoDXI/AAAAAAAAI4g/xK2tIOs_kPA/s1600-h/sydney%252520farm%252520cove%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="sydney farm cove" border="0" height="486" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZLaQzipkwXc/VqRzP0_3cSI/AAAAAAAAI4o/kW5_PL8GanQ/sydney%252520farm%252520cove_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="sydney farm cove" width="622" /></a><br />
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Farm Cove is where we spent our amazing <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/sydney-new-years-eve-2015.html">NYE</a>. Dinghy access to shore is normally easy with a jetty near the Opera House. This is closed on NYE so do your booze run the day before if necessary! We heard that you can get big fines for taking a dinghy up to the wall and climbing over it. So if you do that, maybe don’t admit it.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-32jL_NCF_Tw/VqRzRB28P4I/AAAAAAAAI4s/FsQRea0UUuQ/s1600-h/sydney%252520spring%252520cove%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="sydney spring cove" border="0" height="419" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RLy_Fki0TLc/VqRzSN7CAII/AAAAAAAAI40/XyQDtIu4x7Y/sydney%252520spring%252520cove_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="sydney spring cove" width="646" /></a><br />
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Our last anchorage (it counts as half because we were hardly there) was an Spring/Manly/Little Manly Cove and we arrived, went into town for ice cream, and enjoyed the view from the cockpit but didn’t do much else here as we were bound the next morning up to the Pittwater area.<br />
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<u>In sum</u>, we could have easily spent another month in Sydney, enjoying the city. We probably would have alternated between the harbour anchorages which are lumpy all day as a wash builds up from the gazillion boats but fades at night, and then moved to Blackwattle/Rozelle when we wanted some flat non lumpy time. It’s a great town for boaters.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-19559290338702057212016-01-17T17:18:00.000-08:002016-01-17T21:26:10.656-08:00A Pacific Ocean’s Worth of Fees<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UaY4w6hh3wI/Vpx1uPwPK0I/AAAAAAAAI10/erf7BsTZQyU/s1600-h/GOPR0593%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img alt="GOPR0593" border="0" height="401" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Op-YQgjFFOM/Vpx1vKTWtlI/AAAAAAAAI18/1dhmKZ58wN8/GOPR0593_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="GOPR0593" width="646" /></a><br />
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How much did our Pacific crossing cost us in fees for entering and exiting countries? Time for a <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/search/label/numbers">NUMBERS</a> post!<br />
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<u><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z9iCajPjL1Q/Vpx1wImrKuI/AAAAAAAAI2E/Qe5FWyjc5WI/s1600-h/estrellita%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="estrellita" border="0" height="129" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s3BgBp6knjY/Vpx1w3_gjlI/AAAAAAAAI2M/ewm0yGiz074/estrellita_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="estrellita" width="246" /></a>Important background</u>: We are 35’ with two people aboard and no pets. We spent four seasons in the South Pacific between 2012 and 2015. I am counting the cost of all required things for entrance and exit, even if the money doesn’t go to the goverment because I’m counting how much it cost us. We made some choices that other people don’t have to make. We didn’t visit all countries. Fees have changed over the years (<a href="http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/CookIslands/cook-islands-have-increased-their-fee-schedule-for-visiting-yachts">particularly in the Cooks</a>) so <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/ymmv.html">YMMV</a>.<br />
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<u>In sum</u>: If you aren’t interested in the nitty gritty, the most we’ve paid in fees for clearances was for Australia, with Mexico coming in a close second. The least we paid in fees was for New Caledonia where we paid nothing. Most other countries were in the approximately $200 range.<br />
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<u>Country break down</u>: All of the below are listed in the approximate USD cost.<br />
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<i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--vhLhvPZ-x0/Vpx1xyvoj7I/AAAAAAAAI2U/0wP15DK4WXA/s1600-h/IMG_0270%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="IMG_0270" border="0" height="246" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gnGII04KsiI/Vpx1yna2kxI/AAAAAAAAI2c/JlTsPIF7-s4/IMG_0270_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMG_0270" width="246" /></a>Mexico</i>: $400 USD buys a lot of cheap tacos! At the time of clearance in 2012 we had to pay a little over $110 for our TIP, $40 twice for fishing licences, and $210 for Mexican liability insurance (required by the govt, paid to a private party, despite our having other insurance). This would have allowed us to stay for quite a while (I forget how long) but we left after 6 months.<br />
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<i>French Polynesia</i>: We paid about $200 for an agent so we could avoid the bond. If we had been willing to risk the ups and downs of the currency markets and also getting our bond back in CFP at the end of our stay, this amount could have been zero, but I think our choice was fairly representative. If you count our return to Canada for our long stay visa, <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cCdoEr-v4uM/Vpx1zuIJtBI/AAAAAAAAI2k/9X8eGEVzZ58/s1600-h/P1050239%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="P1050239" border="0" height="246" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k9dD-cnHw2o/Vpx10fT0KUI/AAAAAAAAI2s/_AnuR2XyHm0/P1050239_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1050239" width="186" /></a>this would, of course, be the most expensive country on the list, particularly if we included airline tickets in our estimate of the “cost” so I’m just considering our first run through the country which was more normal.<br />
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<i>Cooks</i>: We paid a total of about $300 - $50 to clear in Suwarrow and then about $250 in various fees to exit.<br />
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<i>Niue: </i>It is a little difficult to decide how to categorize Niue. We only spent $54 in fees but you essentially must take a mooring which adds another $10 per day. Depending on how long you want to stay (and are able to with the exposed anchorage), this could become costly.<br />
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<i>Tonga</i>: We spent $183 in Tonga for three month stay. The clerance was inexpensive but after one month the visa ran about $30pp/per month.<br />
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<i>Fiji</i>: We paid $180 for all of the standard fees including visa extensions for our more than 4 month stay.<br />
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<i>New Caledonia</i>: No fee! No bond! No exit fee! …but you only get 3 months as a N American.<br />
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<i>Australia</i>: We paid $450 for two visas and the quarantee fee. Granted, they give you a year but holy crap!<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nfgl9fq-Ja0/Vpx11PBf28I/AAAAAAAAI20/avUAxnstboE/s1600-h/P1070773%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525282%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="P1070773 (Copy) (2)" border="0" height="368" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M6_2SUpBZpY/Vpx116ISj4I/AAAAAAAAI28/f9X1V4DVrlQ/P1070773%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070773 (Copy) (2)" width="646" /></a></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-42841457611710809362016-01-14T14:04:00.001-08:002016-01-14T14:09:27.578-08:00Watching the Sydney to Hobart race start<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PFYBOdxWwmg/VpgbNILxQ5I/AAAAAAAAIzk/TfBCNbu1w80/s1600-h/IMG_0091-2-Copy5.jpg"><img title="IMG_0091 (2) (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0091 (2) (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OvcdbCY3158/VpgbOP5lmjI/AAAAAAAAIzs/9Cw3S_LLB54/IMG_0091-2-Copy_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="367" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-neGUbd_zSRY/VpgbPPZ9ExI/AAAAAAAAIzw/c_nY5ZmxAsk/s1600-h/IMG_0085-2-Copy.jpg"><img title="IMG_0085 (2) (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0085 (2) (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i1ROoddiV1Y/VpgbPug7l6I/AAAAAAAAIz0/zrH4AjCqudc/IMG_0085-2-Copy_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="246" height="246" /></a>We chose to leave Estrellita in Blackwattle Bay and watch the 2015 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race start from South Head which, as it sounds, is the southern land mass at the entrance to Sydney Harbour. Leaving the dinghy at the rowing club, we walked a short walk to Darling Harbour and boarded a ferry, transferred once to a different ferry a the main downtown wharf and road that all of the way to Watson’s Bay. With Sydney’s new OPAL transit system making the transfers automatically for us, it cost us $8 pp each way, and included quite a harbour tour in the process.</p> <p> </p> <p>We went to the lighthouse arriving at around 11am and found a prime spot to watch the boats round the first mark, and to watch them pop their spinnakers (in the North wind conditions of the this year’s start), although you miss the actual start across the line.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-mGlEztS0M/VpgbQip3JuI/AAAAAAAAI0E/O1fT4-Hq2sg/s1600-h/IMG_0163-Copy6.jpg"><img title="IMG_0163 (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0163 (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-saaaBpYVRos/VpgbRf2natI/AAAAAAAAI0I/PTpKZlFq40M/IMG_0163-Copy_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="319" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>There were a few other early birds enjoying picnics as well but even as the race start closed and the area became more full, it was never a real madhouse. The harbour, on the other hand, was absolutely crazy. The anchorages filled, boats were milling about, and as the race went on their was a stream of boats heading out and then back in the harbour. It looked really fun but although it would have been fun to be on someone else’s boat, we were glad that we could enjoy without the stress of navigating our home in the pack.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EwaV5LeVAmQ/VpgbSb9rPcI/AAAAAAAAI0U/ro-nJ1ivRl0/s1600-h/IMG_0133-Copy7.jpg"><img title="IMG_0133 (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0133 (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SkgP7vcjGmc/VpgbS_29HtI/AAAAAAAAI0Y/-oFzbC0ACw8/IMG_0133-Copy_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="328" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We had brought a tablet with cellular internet and as the race start approached we watched the livestream (which apparently was down outside of Australia this year, but worked inside the country). We started passing news to our neighbors as the race horn went off. With supermaxis in the mix it only took about 5 minutes before the first boats came into our view. As non-race afficianados, it also gave us a chance to read more about the background of the boats.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--UaGwOgfBdY/VpgbTinbCAI/AAAAAAAAI0k/Ucg7isJIUBA/s1600-h/IMG_0098-2-Copy6.jpg"><img title="IMG_0098 (2) (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0098 (2) (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EyZ1y-cPy7Q/VpgbUu_JbJI/AAAAAAAAI0s/xoHtjo5XHIY/IMG_0098-2-Copy_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="433" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>I will let you read <a href="http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2015/day-1/wild-start-when-nothing-went-to-plan/">the official race reporting</a> if you want a good overview; I enjoyed the way their writer laid things out over the course of the event. The start was a crazy series of upsets and we got to watch several of the main dramas unfold by the first mark -- when the Australian sweetheart and regular line honors winner Wild Oats tacked inches behind Commanche, when Commanche took the lead, and when Perpetual couldn’t get their chute up.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4W5274hAUoc/VpgbVuq65pI/AAAAAAAAI0w/ucOby-HV0ak/s1600-h/IMG_0110-2-Copy9.jpg"><img title="IMG_0110 (2) (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0110 (2) (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kSuie750Tcw/VpgbWaQ3G6I/AAAAAAAAI08/D9e40DWlxOY/IMG_0110-2-Copy_thumb6.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="433" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xB3IAuYqTXw/VpgbXGDiKyI/AAAAAAAAI1A/5Qx2EqyXsHI/s1600-h/IMG_0126-2-Copy1%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="IMG_0126 (2) (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0126 (2) (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G4xuiO_sE4c/VpgbX2gB6iI/AAAAAAAAI1M/KROChVY6vks/IMG_0126-2-Copy_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="486" height="486" /></a>The supermaxis and maxis were followed by the “normal sized boats” of which there were many. This was all unfolding to our left. </p> <p> </p> <p>Simultaneously, on our right we watched a series of blows spinnakers as people attempted to hoist them in peppy winds as they turned out of the harbour and headed South.</p> <p> </p> <p>One things I really enjoyed about watching from South Head was how into the race the crowd was. There were gasps, commentary, cheers and a great vibe on the way to the area and away from it, even though the crowds were all trying to funnel into small paths and staircases on the park trails.</p> <p> </p> <p>It was an exciting year for American yachting as an American supermaxi, Comanche, took line honors. The actual winner of the race however, was Balance, an Australian Farr TP52. </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zhYTBmzr_K4/VpgbYmr8CcI/AAAAAAAAI1U/pnOdrYxixpc/s1600-h/IMG_0152-Copy2.jpg"><img title="IMG_0152 (Copy)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="IMG_0152 (Copy)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IdcoQNSl7Rc/VpgbZS6MeGI/AAAAAAAAI1Y/2sFmcLePyfA/IMG_0152-Copy_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="433" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Overall, this was a memory for a lifetime. So delighted we were able to be in a position to attend. When we made landfall in Coff’s it wasn’t at all clear that we would make our way all of the way down to Sydney and I am really glad conditions were favorable to do so.</p>Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-77068829689662514192016-01-02T15:36:00.001-08:002016-01-02T15:36:19.397-08:00Sydney New Years Eve 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are times while cruising that I am filled with such joy at our choice
to take off on a boat – not a plane, not a campervan, but a boat – because
whatever I’m experiencing is so much better from the vantage of a floating home.
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>Being on Sydney Harbour, with our own boat,
after having sailed there across an ocean, watching the fireworks explode
seemingly over our head, from multiple directions was an experience of a
lifetime. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHSh17Su73mjjRSyKgQopnp7NZUCtjgeNM9fGd6mGZoVUc4hpWJaxeTGCwbq6EIl7v4O9hrH8KtzIGZiQB-DL0ow3rVeaKVBbdqBYHfeYQf8WjI_MTP1bpkQojXwJrfkl_sPvw6Dv130/s1600/P1070798+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHSh17Su73mjjRSyKgQopnp7NZUCtjgeNM9fGd6mGZoVUc4hpWJaxeTGCwbq6EIl7v4O9hrH8KtzIGZiQB-DL0ow3rVeaKVBbdqBYHfeYQf8WjI_MTP1bpkQojXwJrfkl_sPvw6Dv130/s320/P1070798+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a>We anchored in Farm Cove in about 35’ of water. We had arrived on the 30th of
Dec and anchored farther into the harbour in shallower water. By noon on the
30th there were a dozen boats in the harbour and at least t<span id="goog_1736956123"></span><span id="goog_1736956124"></span>he same amount at the
mouth of the harbour by the point on the East side. On the morning of the 31st
we saw a nice hole in the anchorage with a better view and moved to it
(S33°51'36.50" E151°13'13.07"). By noon, the anchorage was packed. By 5pm it was
getting ridiculous and as the winds switched direction, people had to reanchor
to avoid hitting other boats as we swung. By 8pm, the already packed anchorage
had a few last minute additions – the last minute people being the least skilled
at anchoring of course. We watched one boat try so many times that another
sailor got in his dinghy, boarded their boat and helped them anchor (he was
downwind of their gong show). With all of that said, the winds were light, the
mood was exuberant and friendly all around us, and we only felt the need to put
fenders down once on one side of our bow. Not too stressful.<br />
<br />
The air show was excellent, the water spraying tug amusing, the lighted boat
parade was classic and both sets of fireworks were spectacular. Go Sydney!<br />
<br />
On a <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/search/label/numbers">NUMBERS</a>
note, in the 2015 cruising season which began at the end of April for us and
finished at NYE, we used 153 engine hours, about 43 gallons of diesel, about 50
gallons of gasoline and we refilled our 20lb propane tank 4 times.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWadOp_aZbyzXFNStKNzlk1bZqQGBuKUc-wq-vtXB3zkXLxdng5YdMoYi7v4ZXXBcrTofiu1HOIrqi_X1tIavxOrXIp0iUWa8m7r8tLPOgJdDRh-tUVFo-TIxqfbYLWVDGr11dpLsfP4/s1600/P1070790+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWadOp_aZbyzXFNStKNzlk1bZqQGBuKUc-wq-vtXB3zkXLxdng5YdMoYi7v4ZXXBcrTofiu1HOIrqi_X1tIavxOrXIp0iUWa8m7r8tLPOgJdDRh-tUVFo-TIxqfbYLWVDGr11dpLsfP4/s400/P1070790+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><br /></a></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-39577062430981479382015-12-21T20:42:00.001-08:002015-12-21T20:44:13.925-08:00Logbook: Newcastle, NSW, Australia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ-h1Blk3eTehFXii_qy0w_sE5JCw0dueMzGlkCfQWop7h0l9rlMtSjTAvaXMRP78hkx_mQaFuv5BsurAeC6V2pIelqcHFjw5NU0rQcNy8A_0JYkHfzy3jkRlQykDvDJJRIlTEOXqvMk/s1600/newcastle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ-h1Blk3eTehFXii_qy0w_sE5JCw0dueMzGlkCfQWop7h0l9rlMtSjTAvaXMRP78hkx_mQaFuv5BsurAeC6V2pIelqcHFjw5NU0rQcNy8A_0JYkHfzy3jkRlQykDvDJJRIlTEOXqvMk/s400/newcastle.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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With boat work (Livia) and a trip back to Canada (Carol) in the cards for
Team Giddyup, we parked SV Estrellita 5.10b for a month at a slip at the
Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club in Newcastle, NSW, Australia.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPVUzIm5nO_t3f_2UUmGxRNtwkReIHAa8AHIsP_PFJZf8bWhk46q808LfWJSsJbsShTbb7u4EDqh6_8TxBMQk3GAxjG1va7bLoXwehf0lW9Zf7X9JCHxYNP6KGGg8gWTU7bj6zpbtl9g/s1600/P1070607+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPVUzIm5nO_t3f_2UUmGxRNtwkReIHAa8AHIsP_PFJZf8bWhk46q808LfWJSsJbsShTbb7u4EDqh6_8TxBMQk3GAxjG1va7bLoXwehf0lW9Zf7X9JCHxYNP6KGGg8gWTU7bj6zpbtl9g/s200/P1070607+%2528Copy%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"></a>It was fun to be in a marina for a month. We
didn’t worry about the weather every day. We went running regularly. There was a
boardwalk all of the way into downtown from the marina dock and we went for long
sweaty walks. We took long showers, rinsed the boat, did laundry, and were able
to focus on boat projects without worrying about stowing items for transit and
with easy access to supplies.<br />
<br />
We found the community at the NCYC to be a treat. Great staff, fun people on
the docks, lots of sail training and dinghy sailing. The town is a working class
base with gentrification happening and so, for us, it was a fun mix of working
port, down and gritty, and fancy coffee, craft beer, type places. There is a
large farmers market and every kind of shopping we could want.<br />
<br />
We sailed away from the port of Newcastle at dawn towards the big city
- Sydney.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPoNLOT2c0TZ8trI5wGR-3tmO5hZwStuw0tP6A9sxkSt85QOrI6CoPDRHXu_MlJE5cIdcLG2UpjHO9ydekfPfCXmaS1vEKKK5W-1S1HdshDhWTZzzTjC8soI52tSS8f0JhtDl7pNH2hI/s1600/newcastledawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTPoNLOT2c0TZ8trI5wGR-3tmO5hZwStuw0tP6A9sxkSt85QOrI6CoPDRHXu_MlJE5cIdcLG2UpjHO9ydekfPfCXmaS1vEKKK5W-1S1HdshDhWTZzzTjC8soI52tSS8f0JhtDl7pNH2hI/s400/newcastledawn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-33221253948633635402015-12-07T04:00:00.000-08:002015-12-07T13:00:25.863-08:00The sudden proliferation of boater Christmas lists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-34cHq3bcL2E/VmNxuHwxEfI/AAAAAAAAIxI/w1yOTFm8xQI/s1600-h/BonVoyage5%252520%2525282%252529%25255B21%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="BonVoyage5 (2)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-njjSw6yHkgo/VmNxu5l-0RI/AAAAAAAAIxQ/j28UXrRKpgg/BonVoyage5%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B18%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="774" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="BonVoyage5 (2)" width="535" /></a>If you are a cruising blog reader, you’ve probably already figured this out but if not, let me clue you into a little <i>secret</i>.<br />
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<b>The main reason that people who read boating blogs are inundated with Christmas present suggestions this time of year is to trick Amazon into giving boaters money</b>. The gear links in the posts are usually tagged with the boaters’ Amazon Affiliates number. Whether you buy the piece of the gear that they link, or something else for yourself or your loved ones, whether you buy it right then or in the next day or so, the boater gets paid by Amazon for generating a sale.<br />
<br />
This is, as I see it, <u>a win-win situation</u>. Obviously, it is a win for the boater, but how is it a win for YOU?<br />
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First of all, you have managed to give money to a boater without any money coming out of your pocket. You buy yourself a present, the boater gets a beer. You get to feel good about that without having to pay a single cent for it. <i>You win</i>!<br />
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Second of all, we boaters feel guilty about being money grubbers and so we usually put a lot of time and energy into our gear recommendations. The motivation may be suspect, but the recommendations are real. Most of us are probably sitting at our nav or salon tables, looking around our bluewater cruising vessels at all of the gear inside, and trying to think what our favorite (linkable) pieces of gear are. Good solid useful recommendations for fun well tested gear –<i> you win</i>!<br />
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And so, with that in mind, I tried to think of three <u>inexpensive</u> items that we <u>use regularly</u>, have <u>lasted</u>, and have <u>solved problems</u> on our boat. <br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HLT4pY1YaY0/VmNxvsMRLaI/AAAAAAAAIxY/iISdsnpmiIM/s1600-h/P1070610%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1070610 (Copy)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JGceFXH03tE/VmNxwZF944I/AAAAAAAAIxg/4u6oiB85maQ/P1070610%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="186" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070610 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>1.) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LAEZEN8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LAEZEN8&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=36LVNYQNZNZWQZ7C">Black Diamond USB rechargeable headlamps</a>. Now that I have said that, you will ask yourselves, why did it take so long for these to be invented?! BD now makes headlamps that can be plugged into any 12V USB charger (which are everywhere in our boats 12 outlets now that all of our electronics are USB chargeable) and recharged. This solves two problems: not having to carry batteries around and the corrosion that is a constant problem on the metal prongs that touch the battery. No more running out of batteries, or carrying around so many that they get old and leak. And no more sanding the corroded little metal prongs in order to make the stupid things work!<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JkkvN0190lY/VmNxxDGDBQI/AAAAAAAAIxo/EeeO1LmMo1s/s1600-h/P1070609%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="right" alt="P1070609 (Copy)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vqxQSf5LNrM/VmNxx9vvOHI/AAAAAAAAIxw/cfq113eJWGk/P1070609%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="186" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: right; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070609 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O6T2ZS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001O6T2ZS&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=CXLYIBXPYKAV5WIW">Stick on velcro</a>. This may sound weird but <i>good</i> stick on velcro is difficult to find and has solved numerous install issues for us. What problem does it solve? Holes in your boat! You can mount remote controls, ipads, pictures, all kinds of things on your boat without drilling any holes in your boat. When you change your mind, pull the velcro, use some residue remover, and it’s like it never happened.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V-FelzJUfGY/VmNxyq49E2I/AAAAAAAAIx4/NjNRndydahE/s1600-h/P1070611%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1070611 (Copy)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--cyzNMZ6UIk/VmNxzcibsZI/AAAAAAAAIx8/gQUHKLGDNgk/P1070611%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="186" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070611 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>3) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002UXQ7QQ&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=QY2Z6M23REAFXIKJ">Reusable produce bags</a>. We’ve all switched to reusable shopping bags already, right? But you still use the plastic bags in the produce aisle, don’t you? I’ve posted about these <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/plastic-reduction.html">before</a> as they were a <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/p/liquid-motivation.html">liquid motivation</a> purchase, but years later these babies are still going strong. All they are is a small mesh bag with a drawstring that can hold an huge bundle of produce, and are washable and long lasting. I have used these at every market from French Polynesia through Fiji and New Caledonia. Every small plastic bag you can avoid using in the islands is a big gain. I used them today in Australia at the Newcastle farmers’ market.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-46287672143098196492015-12-04T13:58:00.001-08:002015-12-04T13:59:16.056-08:00Passage Notes: A shark bit (hit?) our tow gen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E-FpbZ_w9yw/VmIMXGsnmrI/AAAAAAAAIwQ/s626BSw7wQU/s1600-h/P1070537%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="P1070537 (Copy)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-70Fb32eO2oE/VmIMX19PtMI/AAAAAAAAIwY/MI_BL9aBcj4/P1070537%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="378" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070537 (Copy)" width="646" /></a><br />
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It was daylight and I was on watch. We were about 300nm off the E Coast of Australia near the Lord Howe Seamount Chain. Our tow gen, which is normally suspended by ropes from our stern pulpit, banged into the stern pulpit. This sometimes happens in big following seas when the tow gen propeller surfs a wave and slackens the line. When it happens, we jam ropes or other soft things between it and the stern pulpit to prevent damage. This time I sat staring at the stern pulpit for a second because the seas weren’t that big. The tow gen banged <i>again</i> against the pulpit. I thought maybe something was fouling the propeller and looked behind the boat toward the prop.<br />
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I saw a<b> huge dorsal fin</b> surface, moving sideways to our path. As it crossed where the tow gen prop was trailing, the back of the shark also rose out of the water for a second. I caught only a glimpse of it and I am terrible at estimating size and distance but I can tell you that I have never been in the water with a shark that big.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-az0YfUCXk5A/VmIMYnW6OvI/AAAAAAAAIwg/R1nHVWaem7o/s1600-h/P1070539%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1070539 (Copy)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3QkV2mGyvQs/VmIMZYwY-2I/AAAAAAAAIwo/URItznWbixY/P1070539%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="186" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1070539 (Copy)" width="246" /></a>I squealed. Carol raced up from down below. And we watched the shark, now under water, pacing the tow gen prop, then falling further back but still visible in the waves pacing our boat. I took some video but of course the camera was downstairs initially and so it was too late when we brought it up (the story of cruising and wildlife usually). There is a grainy moment in the video where Carol and I see the shark with our eyes, but this screen shot (below) just shows something darkish in a wavelet.<br />
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When we pulled the propeller upon landfall in Coffs harbour several days later, it had candy stripe strips of paint removed from its shaft as if something hard/sharp had been pressed against it while it was spinning. Was it the shark’s skin when it bumped it? Did it actually bite it? We have no idea. There was also a gouge out of the propeller blade.<br />
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We had heard that sharks hit tow propellers but we had never spoken to anyone who had actually had it happen. I can state for the official record that they DO!<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ULN-trhbkjA/VmIMaM-aawI/AAAAAAAAIww/XCQp3MLeu30/s1600-h/SHARK%25255B13%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Terrible pic of the shark that bit our tow gen" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-64QCqoLzVdA/VmIMal1mr_I/AAAAAAAAIw0/I-iKyjQgONg/SHARK_thumb%25255B11%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="366" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="SHARK" width="646" /></a></div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-81785325961084096512015-11-27T13:40:00.001-08:002015-11-27T13:40:45.340-08:00Logbook: Coff’s Harbour, NSW, Australia<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J_he3HcuuxU/VljNzCNslPI/AAAAAAAAIvY/P8KS1U9pGAg/s1600-h/coffs-Copy13.jpg"><img title="Coffs Harbour" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Coffs Harbour" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EDSXykE3vWg/VljNz-pl38I/AAAAAAAAIvc/1zDOheDzWxQ/coffs-Copy_thumb10.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We found the descriptions of the anchoring at Coffs a little confusing and didn’t have a guidebook yet. The inner anchorage, more protected in general from the swell wrapping in is between the old pier and the marina. The outer anchorage is anywhere outside of the old pier including snugged up against the breakwater to the SE (out of view in the picture). While we were there the boats in the outer anchorage were always rolling more than those in the inner anchorage. We anchored for an hour in the inner anchorage awaiting room inside the marina for us to come in and clear customs.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-owKPVCZf71M/VljN0TIlORI/AAAAAAAAIvo/XpDu51dRONc/s1600-h/P1070549-Copy-24.jpg"><img title="P1070549 (Copy) (2)" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070549 (Copy) (2)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0uaKxIpAJPQ/VljN1ZGoO1I/AAAAAAAAIvw/pxOT1bVIkyM/P1070549-Copy-2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="246" align="left" height="246" /></a></p> <p>Coffs Harbour was an extremely walkable/bus-able place for boaters needing to get to various supplies. There are also tons of small restaurants in the marina area itself and a 5 minute walk outside of the marina. If you want quick groceries, there is a small IGA close by and the enormous Cole’s further away towards town is enough to boggle the mind of someone who has been in the islands for a few years.</p> <p> </p> <p>As we’ve already mentioned in our passage notes, we found Coff’s welcoming, cozy and in general to suit our tastes. There are gorgeous beaches on either side of the marina with loads of happy dogs, families, surfers and wind sports folks. The small hill overlooking the marina is a great walk with a nice view of the ocean for fun, for exercise and if you want to get a sense of what the swell is doing before you leave.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dkXgYRfe_8g/VljN2A0q66I/AAAAAAAAIv4/v2E7NKswNGw/s1600-h/P1070572-Copy-25.jpg"><img title="Carol got in a surf" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Carol got in a surf" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8O6LisCJBwA/VljN20q0YOI/AAAAAAAAIwA/DCG4qL9PQCM/P1070572-Copy-2_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="368" /></a></p> Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-75338800637549484442015-11-23T20:14:00.000-08:002015-11-23T20:17:52.300-08:00Passage: New Caledonia to Australia<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LwX_qABY-9Y/VlPk1OTMkvI/AAAAAAAAIts/glPy3QD_d6A/s1600-h/P1070446%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525283%252529%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070446 (Copy) (3)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070446 (Copy) (3)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cREYkFzFsR4/VlPk1pex80I/AAAAAAAAIt0/Yz2wMu3jXTo/P1070446%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525283%252529_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="368" /></a></p> <p>We left New Caledonia on 12 Nov 2015. We sailed off of our mooring at Ilot Maitre with our friends aboard SV Dream Time sailing behind us to send us off in style. They broke off to head to another year of lovely gunkholing around Noumea, and we continued sailing out Dumbea Pass pointing at Sydney.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qRQncymeyB0/VlPk2Oq-IiI/AAAAAAAAIt4/mK1mQAQB5x8/s1600-h/P1070508%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B12%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070508 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070508 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bUU8YynKLUA/VlPk2xRVZfI/AAAAAAAAIuA/-G5h5T1fEU0/P1070508%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B11%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="181" align="left" height="306" /></a>We knew we would hit a front around 28S and after that the weather was unpredictable but with nothing too scary in the forecast and the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo/#tabs=Weekly-note">MJO was behaving itself</a>. We hoped to sail to Sydney but we knew we wouldn’t know if that was possible until we started pulling weather forecasts after the front.</p> <p> </p> <p>We started out in 10-15 knot winds, had a bit of light air sailing which over the course of a few days clocked around to the NW. Instead of a few hours of fickle wind while the front passed (as has been our experience in the past) the wind simply flipped 180 degrees to the SSE in the 20-25 k<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2h2Q4Xp9KQU/VlPk3WuIcbI/AAAAAAAAIuI/Uc8bTB-H9LE/s1600-h/P1070519%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070519 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070519 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-55uuhxGGMzM/VlPk3_w5mbI/AAAAAAAAIuU/-p5Th0ER_9c/P1070519%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="186" align="right" height="246" /></a>not range. We reefed down and pointed East until the winds slowly backed around to the ESE and we could continue sailing toward Sydney. After a day or so of this, the forecasts were showing the possibility of an East Coast Low forming over Sydney and so we turned for Coffs Harbour.</p> <p> </p> <p>At this point we had a 24 hours spinnaker run with an eddy in the Australian current pushing us toward Coffs. Light wind, flat water, sunshine and a favorable current – a Pretorien owners dream! Note: <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/forecasts/idyoc14.shtml?region=14&forecast=2">This site</a> gives an excellent visual of the current state of the current.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hszAFz8JhSU/VlPk4igd0pI/AAAAAAAAIuc/1eXISBzdijg/s1600-h/P1070533%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070533 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070533 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eG_L_YQ9J0c/VlPk5Err7HI/AAAAAAAAIug/FZgVJNdgL8k/P1070533%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="246" align="left" height="244" /></a>The clearance was easy peasy. They took our produce, eggs, cheese and milk and canned meat (poor pate gone) – all as we had anticipated. They examined our shells, took a few pictures, charged the stupidly expensive fee of $380AUD and were on their way. Nice guys.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uBmcvfG7t4g/VlPk5lAdQPI/AAAAAAAAIus/tbnM5MZkBBo/s1600-h/P1070496%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070496 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: right; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070496 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6yMDEzPnQDQ/VlPk6PM_I5I/AAAAAAAAIuw/QLQcxGFITmI/P1070496%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="246" align="right" height="246" /></a>Coffs Harbour was a surprising treat. It is a dirty, dusty, slightly run down port filled with a interesting, diverse, salty crowd of honest to goodness sailors. The staff were super friendly. The town was cute and we were picked up when hitch hiking immediately and even given a ride when we were just asking someone about the bus. The showers were hot, high pressure, and with shower heads taller than I am. As an aside, for whatever reason, even though I am only 5’8” most S Pacific shower heads are positioned at my neck requiring (on the few times we’ve been in ports or haul outs) me to crouch down to shampoo. If Coffs were closer to Sydney we would have stayed there for a while but the lure of Christmas and NYE in Sydney proved too difficult to resist.</p> <p> </p> <p>We made it!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rjv5jW-q7q4/VlPk60ffh0I/AAAAAAAAIu8/iOrw8xmcV00/s1600-h/P1070500%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525283%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070500 (Copy) (3)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070500 (Copy) (3)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Dm2tu2NOLxI/VlPk7S7s8eI/AAAAAAAAIvA/fuOTeGDq2iE/P1070500%252520%252528Copy%252529%252520%2525283%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="368" /></a></p> Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-14061491986175909592015-11-14T06:49:00.000-08:002015-11-14T06:56:20.883-08:00//WL2K Posting from on PassageWe are currently on passage to Australia and I am midway through my midnight to 5am watch as I'm writing this. We are almost abeam the Gifford Tablemount (a seamount) and in the next day will be passing through a deep section, a valley as it were, of this enormous underwater mountain chain. Our map (link on the left nav bar of this blog) is being updated approxaimately daily as long as the radio comms continue to cooperate..
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<br>((As usual, don't panic if it doesn't happen. Our emergency chain is well established and the people in it know who they are.))
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<br>So far the passage has been excellent. This isn't to say that it has been easy sailing. Actually it has been a high energy combination of working to keep the boat moving smartly in light air, and reefing her down when the winds come up. Rinse and repeat.
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<br>The reason it has been excellent is that we are so excited to be doing it. I don't think we've been this pumped up for a passage since we left Mexico for the Marquesas. This is another leg of "the dream" that we had before leaving the dock. How many times did I imagine the last leg of the Pacifiic Crossing either to NZ or AUS and how many blogs did I read of people making it? A lot...
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<br>Making this particular passage rekindles memories of those original hopes, fears and excitement when everything ahead of us was so incredibly unknown. It is one of those cruising moments when you do something for the first time that you dreamt about doing. Those dream come true moments are special and I remember every one of them.
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<br>I remember my first swim in clear warm water where I could see the anchor chain (Cabo San Lucas). I remember sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in the sun in full company of the weekend sailors. I remember hoisting the Mexican courtesy flag, making landfall in the Marquesas, my first atoll. Even though these experiences remain amazing on their successive iterations, there is something special about the first.
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<br>I would tell you how many miles we have to go except we aren't certain yet which Australian port will be our first landfall, or when we'll arrive there... Welcome to cruising!Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-54940866300105814232015-11-09T06:00:00.000-08:002015-11-09T06:00:01.052-08:00Motus and bays // Maa and Uere<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n189kf1a-lU/Vj0z9XqgpBI/AAAAAAAAIso/Qj5ASt21ae0/s1600-h/11216586_10153637986186772_7600293368180185514_n%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="11216586_10153637986186772_7600293368180185514_n" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="11216586_10153637986186772_7600293368180185514_n" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q_BfsCyvDJ4/Vj0z-qQis8I/AAAAAAAAIsw/60-EtbUYt_U/11216586_10153637986186772_7600293368180185514_n_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="483" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>As cruisers we tend to spend a lot of time searching out tiny islands surrounded by clear water and fantasyland (fantasysea?) colors. The downside of such tendencies is that we spend a fair amount of our time in lumpy anchorages. Every once in a while the bump gets to us, particularly in a long stretch of windy conditions, and we find ourselves retreating to bays (when available).</p> <p> </p> <p>New Caledonia has a huge main island, riddled with bays with reasonable anchoring depths and great holding. We’ve spent most of our time here exploring the islets in New Caledonia’s lagoon and have visited only a few spots on the main island besides the capital city of Noumea. Two of those main island anchorages were recent stops in Maa and Uere. Both are wrap around anchorages, protected from most conditions and very well protected from trade wind conditions even allowing for the wind to slop about a bit in angle. They also are another visual and textural side of New Caledonia – big land mass, sometimes desert looking. It’s been lovely, tranquil and we are starting to regain our drive to explore lumpy anchorages again.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rMy0CcMO_TM/Vj00ChzU6tI/AAAAAAAAIs4/fPHx09ah5O0/s1600-h/P1070420%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070420 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070420 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oKweOtJ-mZ8/Vj00FOMQ_hI/AAAAAAAAItA/5MfWH7OgF-Q/P1070420%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Since we arrived in Tonga/Fiji/New Caledonia it has been a balance for us between time in exposed fabulous anchorages and flat less gorgeous (to us) areas. In the flat we catch up on chores, cleaning, boat work, writing, long walks, etc.</p> <p> </p> <p>I think this is why we love atolls so much. Even though they are exposed from many angles, you can have very strong trade winds and still be in flat, flat water. On the contrary, small islets get wrap around waves and the wind doesn’t have to change angle much for them to become more exposed.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G9zuVMXXDVM/Vj00IfHD-vI/AAAAAAAAItI/cXPK_DPeeGg/s1600-h/P1070421%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070421 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070421 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I3cnOqdFNMU/Vj00KQFb17I/AAAAAAAAItQ/GjA_yjJHGuE/P1070421%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Sometimes of course we get flat windless conditions in the more exposed anchorages. Those times are marked in my memories as some of the best cruising we have had. That windless day in <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2012/09/black-tipped-sunset.html">Mopelia</a>. Our recent time in <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2015/10/dreaming-of-mato.html">Mato</a>. <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2014/02/on-not-settling-down.html">Tauna</a> in the Gambiers…</p> Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-12516502800308314242015-11-06T14:44:00.001-08:002015-11-06T14:44:20.765-08:00Kite Spot: Ilot Nge, Nouvelle Caledonie<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hIDikcDUzRI/Vj0s6kSZUiI/AAAAAAAAIrg/6TqqRU4Uceg/s1600-h/G0031916%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img title="G0031916 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="G0031916 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AudiWv-zmjE/Vj0s8drSqdI/AAAAAAAAIro/EAEn2wqq32I/G0031916%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Sometimes it is fun to be in a crowd, at a park, particularly on a holiday weekend. We had a great time at Ilot Nge on Halloween weekend. The anchorage and mooring field were packed on the weekend as boats full of working stiffs escaped the capital city of Noumea for a weekend of playing at this marine park. Even with this rush, there were only a hand full of kiters here and we had the water relatively to ourselves (and our friends).  Launch spot: <a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&cp=-22.3266294290958~166.320605188946&style=h&lvl=19">S22°19'35.70" E166°19'13.88"</a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tpM9LXVaOIQ/Vj0s_vTVovI/AAAAAAAAIrw/y3CiQrWcLXQ/s1600-h/G0041976%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img title="G0041976 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="G0041976 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hdBbtmDrm9U/Vj0tBubJweI/AAAAAAAAIr4/-7EBO2xfVTY/G0041976%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>The North side of the island was good kiting at all tides. The South side got a little “crunchy” with coral at all but high tide. You could work your way upwind to the waves or to this gorgeous area of flat water over sand where the only obstacle was some spikes coming out of the water from an old shipwreck.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2zpsTYYZ9aQ/Vj0tDOukfSI/AAAAAAAAIsA/MogYYVsZiJw/s1600-h/nge_shipwreck%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img title="nge_shipwreck" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="nge_shipwreck" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YolpYgGko1M/Vj0tE_hiz0I/AAAAAAAAIsI/kH71v8tzDxA/nge_shipwreck_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="477" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Some of the moorings are in water too shallow for us but there were plenty to choose from and you could anchor outside the mooring field in slightly lumpier water if you chose. We had three excellent days of kiting there and a fun Halloween party on the beach with the crews of Dream Time and Andromeda.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gjPcQ-vCauk/Vj0tOOpoPZI/AAAAAAAAIsQ/ZDv8zFtqwlw/s1600-h/P1070390%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070390 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070390 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jp7Z7SXJkaQ/Vj0tQqNyApI/AAAAAAAAIsY/w3E6rmwFUZo/P1070390%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-30016395459599782042015-11-04T04:36:00.000-08:002015-11-04T04:36:00.239-08:00The Passage Waiting Game<p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uF57NYiNzY8/VjmLvo2ns6I/AAAAAAAAIqk/padX2L0FOGc/s1600-h/P1110826%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1110826 (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1110826 (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yaJ8nFtGjyU/VjmL6URJK_I/AAAAAAAAIqs/TdUGfcEv4-E/P1110826%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="366" align="left" height="486" /></a>With the exception of passages to weather, we’ve never really had to wait for weather windows. For as long as we’ve been cruising, when we say “we’ll start looking for a weather window on X date” we have nearly always had an immediate, <strong><em>too</em></strong> close in time window that requires us to scramble to prep or to check out of the country. Instead of fighting boredom and working on our patience, we have historically had to make certain we aren’t rushing and leaving so quickly that we (and the boat) are underprepared.</p> <p> </p> <p>And so it is with some amusement that I note that we are getting shut down on our upcoming passage to Australia. </p> <p> </p> <p>I have been watching the weather in between New Caledonia and Australia on and off for months, and I have not seen such disturbed weather, for such a long period of time, between the two, until now. There was a decent, albeit strong wind window before we were ready to start looking and since then the weather windows have either involved long sections of motoring or big fronts (and associated strong wind and seas) anticipated at arrival.  We are listening to the relevant SSB nets to monitor boats on passage, checking the windows we didn’t take and so far, we correctly predicted that they weren’t the right windows <em>for us</em>. </p> <p> </p> <p>The nice thing about Australia is that although we have preferences on where we make landfall we have nearly 700 miles of coastline, interspersed with legal arrival ports, as a target. This is wildly different from most of the passage making we have done in which we have to arrive at a very specific point in the sea, where there is a pass into an atoll or a safe arrival path into a single clearance port. On the other hand, this is a longer passage, which makes it more difficult to time generally, to a country which is fussy about after hours and weekend clearances, which makes the timing important.</p> <p> </p> <p>And so we wait and watch. We have another two weeks or so before our visas expire. Depending on who you listen to the S Pacific hurricane season has either already begun or begins at the end of the month. Little pressures that we snuff out before they grow in our minds.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UeBSRyaUeR4/VjmMMGTqtKI/AAAAAAAAIq0/XLR7f4L6onU/s1600-h/Frightening%25255B11%25255D.jpg"><img title="Frightening" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Frightening" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BvHaXDcLLGk/VjmMcHz5mzI/AAAAAAAAIq8/a9vKpHM0rko/Frightening_thumb%25255B9%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="645" height="486" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Waiting and watching means keeping the boat in a constant state of near readiness. We have done all of our pre-passage chores. The boat is tidy. We have bought what groceries we could buy in advance for the passage, then eaten them, and now are readying to buy them again. We are still kiting, swimming, and playing, but every move has to be planned with the passage in mind. We can bring out gear if we have time to let it dry and pack it away before leaving…</p> <p> </p> <p>At the same time that we become antsy, we also don’t want to leave. The tropics at this latitude are starting to truly feel like summer. The weather is glorious, the already excellent kiting conditions now include warmer water and constant sunshine. There is a reason that cyclone season is considered by some to be the best time to cruise. We are very, very jealous of our friends with EU passports who get more than 3 months in French territories.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DuQPbwIPC-E/VjmMmiHT0kI/AAAAAAAAIrE/CdzqSYtcRNU/s1600-h/P1070407%252520%2525282%252529%252520%252528Copy%252529%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="P1070407 (2) (Copy)" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P1070407 (2) (Copy)" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0LTghr4VTts/VjmMsk5NaSI/AAAAAAAAIrM/NUyFH7vJAzo/P1070407%252520%2525282%252529%252520%252528Copy%252529_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="646" height="486" /></a></p> Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-26790919104199335492015-10-27T01:14:00.001-07:002017-03-15T17:43:18.517-07:00Are we really about to cross the Pacific? Well, finish crossing anyways…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6ts2Xcdjgw/Vi8yXugixpI/AAAAAAAAIo8/wWRF1dzww4g/s1600-h/P1020118%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img alt="P1020118" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ANnMcv7sk0w/Vi8yYuLs3kI/AAAAAAAAIpE/QWlanoLs-xM/P1020118_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="456" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1020118" width="606" /></a><br />
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In the next few weeks we will be making our passage to Australia. Do you remember when SV Estrellita 5.10b was at 53° North, traipsing about in “That. Green.” in the <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/07/logbook-sgaang-gwaay.html">Haida Gwaii</a> (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, Canada?<br />
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There are many ways to count a Pacific Crossing, and as we approach our passage to Australia I find myself reminiscing about the start of it all. In many ways, it was when we turned South from Queen Charlotte City that started our crossing of the Pacific. At that moment, I knew the days of poking endlessly (slowly and joyfully) around the BC coastline were over and although we continued to cruise through the Haida Gwaii and down the coast of Vancouver Island (again) to Tofino, I was starting to think forward to our next legs – our first big passage to San Francisco, crossing into Mexico, the Pacific Puddle Jump. At the time I wrote “<a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/06/logbook-queen-charlotte-city-town.html">This stop was the Northernmost apex of our trip. We are officially Southbound from here.</a>”<br />
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And it all happened. We had an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAJ_CFPc_uE&index=3&list=PL47x5_YuBIdNLExLl3mBHAn1gMd3rR3w3">incredible trip</a> down the coast to San Francisco. A few months later we <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2011/10/san-diego-to-ensenada.html">crossed into Mexico</a>. And 5 months after that we <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2012/03/ready-set-jump.html">left</a> for French Polynesia. Giddyup!<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IZUaXh526FM/Vi8yZwDQlOI/AAAAAAAAIpM/5l8aFN1ICbI/s1600-h/La%252520Paz%252520013%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img alt="La Paz 013" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lYTsV3gCNNE/Vi8ya7Zeh0I/AAAAAAAAIpU/X_FRe6czPVo/La%252520Paz%252520013_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="446" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="La Paz 013" width="606" /></a><br />
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And we arrived in what felt like a dream land. And as you already know, we tore ourselves away from <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2014/11/region-review-french-polynesia_26.html">French Polynesia</a> at the end of our 3 months, only to shortly return and spend several years, again poking endlessly (slowly and joyfully) around as much of those glorious mind boggling archipelagoes as we could absorb.<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GEddpdj1lVA/Vi8yb2AULHI/AAAAAAAAIpc/u-6HFeB3AmI/s1600-h/P1040186%252520%2525282%252529%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img alt="P1040186 (2)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uTShYXdMKU0/Vi8yc7kesBI/AAAAAAAAIpk/40f1K7yQjd4/P1040186%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="484" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1040186 (2)" width="606" /></a><br />
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And then things sped up again and we left French Polynesia for <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2014/08/logbook-amazing-uncomfortable-niue.html">Niue</a>, for <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2014/11/region-review-fun-times-in-tonga.html">Tonga</a>, and the next year for <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2015/06/fiji-first-impressions.html">Fiji</a> and now <a href="http://thegiddyupplan.blogspot.com/2015/09/nouvelle-caledonie-first-impressions.html">New Caledonia</a>. Giddyup!<br />
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Here we are sitting in Noumea, New Caledonia, preparing for the last leg to Australia. It seems like so very far from 53° North on the west coast of Canada to 33° South on the east coast of Australia. Still, many people make that trip in about a year and so it is probably the fact that it has been nearly 4 and a half years since we left Canada that adds to the feeling of distance.<br />
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Crossing the Pacific can't be defined by mileage for me. We’ve already passed the longitude of NZ, and we certainly started from nearly the furthest corner of the Pacific we could from here. We've done the miles, but as any sailor who has contemplated this last set of passages (to NZ or AUS) knows, this last leg <i>feels</i> like the finish. It’s a line in the sand. An accomplishment. As a climber might say, it’s a beautiful natural line begging to be finished.<br />
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We’re stoked!</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6178563583693618350.post-77609640377853649232015-10-21T22:02:00.001-07:002015-10-21T22:03:59.800-07:00It burns! Dealing with the sizzling tropical sun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lZZU8knsvMU/Viht1zl2FZI/AAAAAAAAIJQ/FZFIRuw5AYw/s1600-h/IMAG0196-picsay%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMAG0196-picsay" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O2Ci6bUw49s/Viht2jSfbyI/AAAAAAAAIJU/GKN-hPZ19ek/IMAG0196-picsay_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="364" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="IMAG0196-picsay" width="606" /></a><br />
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Growing up in the Seattle area I didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about my sun exposure. Given recent research on Vitamin D and sun, if anything, I should have been trying to get more sun!<br />
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Questions like “<a href="http://gizmodo.com/your-sunscreen-is-killing-earths-coral-reefs-1737717948">is my sunscreen killing coral reefs</a>?” or “will this sun shirt give me heat exhaustion?” were pretty far from my mind. Once we started boating, even in the WA/BC area, I had to take my sun exposure on the water more seriously. It was surprisingly easy to get burned on the water. However, it wasn’t until we arrived in the tropics and we started kiteboarding that I really had to get serious. Over the years, this is what we've come up with.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4YyXCwNiQmM/Viht3ot8OqI/AAAAAAAAIJg/_eYWhF-D0GY/s1600-h/P1050605%25255B14%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1050605" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r39_5EjWIsg/Viht4aXw4AI/AAAAAAAAIJo/asvwNe2YKCg/P1050605_thumb%25255B19%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="303" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1050605" width="306" /></a>Block not screen</u></b>: Our first line of defense is to block the sun with clothing: hats, rash guards*, long sleeve loose shirts (with built in or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LFYTMZY/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LFYTMZY&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=7TCIDGKETSRNDYTY">washed in</a> sun protection), etc. <br />
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For areas we don’t cover with cloth – like our face or hands – for various reasons related to chemicals, effectiveness and water resistance, Carol and I have changed over almost completely to <i>physical sunscreens </i>(sunblocks) rather than <i>chemical</i> <i>sunscreens</i>. If you don’t know the difference and are curious, go <a href="http://www.badgerbalm.com/s-62-natural-sunscreen-faq.aspx">here</a> and scroll to the bottom section. Simply put, we wear zinc or titanium oxide based sunscreens.<br />
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So, do we look like 1980s lifeguards? Noooo…kind of…it depends..sometimes yes.<br />
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For our sunblocks. we divide them into a three types: those that can be worn <i>every day</i> without looking ridiculous, and those that look a bit ridiculous but are extremely effective when spending the worst section of the day <i>kiting on the water</i> in the tropical sun, and those that look <i>completely ridiculous</i> but are absolutely effective and we can use if we are already a bit burned or are spending too many days in a row kiteboarding our buns off in the sun.<br />
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<b><u>Everyday</u></b>: Our favorite sunblock which we can wear on our face without looking ridiculous is a tub (not stick) of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EGMBP2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000EGMBP2&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=H5WD3A5HX74SW22E">clear zinc oxide</a>. This is one of those items that we have had guests carry to us in their luggage because it can be hard to find while traveling and we don’t want to do without. I admit I still wear chemical sunscreen on my lips (some form of chapstick lip balm like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0031DDIKM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0031DDIKM&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=VDVKSJSTIMGV37Y4">this one</a> with a light sunscreen). <br />
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Everyday is a bit of a misnomer; I don’t actually put either of these on every day because I don’t walk around in the full sun for long periods every day. If I am only going into the sun for a short period, I just put on a hat and a sun shirt. But if I need more than that, I reach for a tub of clear zinc. It rubs in without feeling too sticky (but more sticky than some chemical sunscreens), it lasts a long time, looks normal and really works.<br />
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<b><u><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HroiPUQo21I/Viht5pgS3VI/AAAAAAAAIJw/qUOEKUSkI5U/s1600-h/P1050782%252520%2525283%252529%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1050782 (3)" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-thlo0CnwvTk/Viht6qnogrI/AAAAAAAAIJ4/5hmPXwUey-Y/P1050782%252520%2525283%252529_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="306" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1050782 (3)" width="306" /></a>Ghosting</u></b>: When we get ready to go on the water, we resort to zinc or titanium oxide in a stick format which goes on thicker and pastier (and thus less comfortably). Again, we tend to use a simple brand found in a drug store like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AOPM3I/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003AOPM3I&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=ZBO2GOYKXIYQDVBR">this</a>. <i>TIP</i>: You can often find sunblock in a brand that normally makes chemical sunscreen like Neutrogena by looking at the baby formulas which is how we found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P97U58/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001P97U58&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=XORKR7I5Y5EOGFLH">this one</a>. <br />
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Although these sticks are generally advertised as clear they leave you white and pasty looking which we call “ghosting”. Once we are “ghosted up”, we can go a full day of kiting without reapplying except on our lips, or on a really long day, on our noses. <br />
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The only thing we have found that really works on our <i>lips</i> long enough on the water to be worth it is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000229JU8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000229JU8&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=AFQCO42AWGPSVMZM">Lip Armor</a> which you can find at REI. Even with Lip Armor we need to reapply once on a long day because of all of the ways that it gets rubbed off your lips (drinking water, shouting encouragement, epic kissing sessions, you know the drill).<br />
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<a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LhE4iv_aFoQ/Viht74PHQvI/AAAAAAAAIKA/ikSBroRpLRU/s1600-h/P1050369%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="P1050369" border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-up5OHzB3Qv4/Viht-fV1oCI/AAAAAAAAIKI/vDJXvhvjavI/P1050369_thumb%25255B12%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="306" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="P1050369" width="166" /></a><b><u>The FULL Monty</u></b>: If we’ve been naughty and burned ourselves, we go with the super sticky, not very comfortable, but incredibly effective <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J4F7W94/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00J4F7W94&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=7LWQ73VS7KUU5ORF">Badger Sport sunscreen</a> again with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000229JU8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000229JU8&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=AFQCO42AWGPSVMZM">Lip Armor</a>. You can see Carol in this photo after he let his nose get burned and so applied a very thick layer of Badger on his burned bits. It is impossible to get burned through this. Don’t be fooled by the SPF 35 rating and you should read a bit about <a href="http://www.badgerbalm.com/s-32-water-resistant-sunscreen-waterproof-sunblock.aspx">water resistance ratings</a> if you are into water sports. I’ll take an SPF 35 sunblock that doesn’t break down or easily rub off over a suncreen SPF 55 that comes off as soon as I get wet and in the sun. I am fairly certain you could coat yourself in Badger Sport and walk across the desert.<br />
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Except that you couldn’t because, <i>the thicker the sun block, the sweatier it makes me</i>. This isn’t a problem kite boarding because we are in and out of the water and in the wind, but it is quite difficult for me to wear even the Ghosting levels of sun block and then go for a hike. I find myself not wearing sunscreen until we reach the summit (but wearing a sun shirt and hat) and then applying some every day zinc, and walking down in my tank top (and hat).<br />
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<b><u>The Burly Girly FULL Monty</u></b>: A couple of different surfer girlfriends of mine turned me onto Shiseido’s sunscreen stick. It is still thick. It is still pasty. But it doesn’t make my skin clarity unhappy like some of the other thick stuff. I used the “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KF53QXI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KF53QXI&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=T5XKVF7VV35SSZAJ">translucent</a>” which was still super, duper Ghosty (but excellent) and have also used the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HLR0KU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00HLR0KU0&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=A5FLYDUCVPQOPRRR">tinted</a> (which makes me look like I’m going kiteboard clubbing – I feel the need to wear <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DWV4NWU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00DWV4NWU&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=BCJSGHSHWKDR773Y">tinted lip balm</a> at the same time to complete the makeup vibe). Even though I’m joking about both, I love them. If I weren’t so tanned I would prefer the clear because I’m not interested in looking like I did full makeup for a day of watersports, but with my tan it looks less shocking to wear the tinted. Both stay on forever and really, really keep me from burning.<br />
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And that’s it. I feel a little silly writing about this because sunscreen isn’t rocket science. Still, it took me a few years of being in the tropics to figure out what worked for us.<br />
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*I am a ridiculous fan of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDCRMVW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00IDCRMVW&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=RNKP6UNXRUJDZSPR">NRS rash guards</a> and also their <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028EJ3W2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0028EJ3W2&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=UAGRSHRMBV3Z2QEA">.5mm neoprene Hydroskin line</a> (including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JGBWI4K/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JGBWI4K&linkCode=as2&tag=svest510b-20&linkId=QXJWUTTP556WIBWY">shorts</a>!). They last 3-4 times as long as any other rash guard I’ve used. We are, of course, really hard on our rash guards. We use them while kiting and while snorkeling, they get dried in the tropical sun regularly and not washed as often as they should. NRS never completely loses its elasticity like other brands (which turn into hilarious blouses). We don’t get anything for saying this.</div>
Team Giddyuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547473588977308684noreply@blogger.com2